The good news was the Boston Celtics eliminated the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of their NBA East Finals series but the bad news was the Baltimore Orioles stomped the Boston Red Sox. The Orioles pounced on Cooper Criswell (2-2, 3.96 ERA) for 7 runs in just four innings to put the game away early. Meanwhile Cole Irvin of Baltimore held the Sox scoreless through five innings. The Sox didn't do anything until they rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth when the game was already over. New addition Brad Keller was the sacrificial lamb, pitching the final four innings and allowing four runs. Baltimore as a team pounded out 13 hits and 11 runs as they defeated the Sox 11-3 on Memorial Day at Camden Yards.
Irvin got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start. Rob Refsnyder grounded out to short. Connor Wong grounded out to third to end the inning. Criswell got the ball in the bottom of the first and Gunnar Henderson flied out to left to start. Adley Rutschman grounded out to second and Ryan O'Hearn lined out to third to end the inning.
Rafael Devers took strike three to start the top of the second. Garrett Cooper flied out to left but Romy Gonzalez walked. Vaughn Grissom got a base hit to right to move Gonzalez to third, but Dominic Smith grounded out to second to end the inning. The O's went up for good in the bottom of the second as Ryan Mountcastle singled to right to begin. Colton Cowser forced Mountcastle at second but Jordan Westburg doubled to the left field wall to score Cowser to put the O's up for good already. Kyle Stowers lined out to right to move Westburg to third but Mullins struck out swinging to end the inning with the O's up 1-0.
Ceddanne Rafaela was rung up for strike three to start the top of the third before Duran grounded out to second. Refsnyder drilled a base hit to right but Wong flied out to the centerfield warning track to end the inning. The O's struck again in the bottom of the third as Jorge Mateo doubled to left to start. Henderson grounded out to second to move Mateo to third and he scored on a pop up to center by Rutschman. O'Hearn popped up to short to end the inning with the O's ahead 2-0.
More Sox ineptitude in the top of the fourth as Devers got a base hit to center to start. Cooper blooped a single to center but Gonzalez screwed up the bunt, getting Devers thrown out at third. Grissom walked to load the bases but Smith was called out on strikes on a pitch outside. Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning. The O's iced the game in the bottom of the fourth as Mountcastle doubled to right to start. Cowser hit a routine grounder to Grissom....booted for an error. Westburg walked to load the bases and Stowers doubled to left to score two runners. Mullins tripled to center to ice the game all with nobody out. Mateo hit a sac fly to right to score Mullins as fans laughed at the Red Sox. Henderson struck out swinging and Rutschman flied out to left to end the inning with the O's up 7-0.
Duran flied out to left to start the top of the fifth before Refsnyder lined out to center. Wong walked but Devers took strike three to end the inning. Brad Keller made his Sox debut in the bottom of the fifth as O'Hearn grounded back to the mound to start. Mountcastle struck out swinging and Cowser grounded out to first to end the inning.
Jacob Webb came in to pitch the top of the sixth as Cooper grounded out to third to start. Gonzalez grounded out to short and Grissom took strike three to end the inning. David Hamilton came in for Devers for the bottom of the sixth and Westburg struck out swinging to start. Stowers pounded a ground rule double into the centerfield stands but Rafaela made a great running catch to rob Mullins of extra bases. Mateo flied out to right to end the inning.
Smith flied out to center to start the top of the seventh before Rafaela got a base hit to center. Duran struck out swinging and Refsnyder forced Rafaela to end the inning. The O's went off in the bottom of the seventh as Henderson walked to start. Rutschman doubled to right to score Henderson and O'Hearn got a base hit to center to move Adley to third. Mountcastle got a base hit to right to score Adley and both runners moved over on the Cowser fly out to center. Westburg popped up to second but Stowers got a base hit to center to score both runners. Mullins grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox up 11-0.
O's pour it on
Ramon Urias took over for Henderson and Thyago Vieira took over on the mound for the top of the eighth. Wong walked and took second on a wild pitch before Hamilton walked as well. Cooper walked to load the bases and Gonzalez smacked a triple to right to clear the bases. Grissom walked and that was it for Vieira. Smith flied out to left, Rafaela struck out swinging and Duran went down hacking to end the inning with the Sox down 11-3.
The lone highlight of the game
Mateo lined out to center to start the bottom of the eighth but Urias got a base hit to center. Rutschman forced Urias at second but O'Hearn singled to right. Mountcastle grounded out to third to end the inning.
Dillon Tate came in to close out the top of the ninth and Refsnyder got a base hit to left to start. Wong flied out to right but Hamilton got a base hit to right. Cooper flied out to center and Gonzalez grounded out to third to end the game. The O's had won it 11-3.
O's win
Jackass Criswell
Jackass of the Night is Cooper Criswell. He got rocked for 7 runs in just four innings to put the Sox in a hole they couldn't get out of.
The Good:
Rob Refsnyder was 2 for 5.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3.
David Hamilton singled, walked and scored.
Vaughn Grissom was 1 for 2 with 2 walks.
The Bad:
Jarren Duran was 0 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Dominic Smith was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Brad Keller allowed 4 runs in 4 innings of work.
The Ugly:
Connor Wong was 0 for 3 but walked twice and scored a run.
Garrett Cooper was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Romy Gonzalez was just 1 for 4 but walked and drove in 3 runs.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Final Thoughts:
Happy Memorial Day....the Sox suck! Looks like the starting rotation is crashing down to earth as Criswell is mortal after all. With the offense as bad as it is, the Sox desperately needed the starting pitching to hold up. Unfortunately when you have a team of number 3-5 starters, eventually they're going to balance out. We all know the offense is awful and is going to struggle, but the rotation performing is the only reason the Sox aren't dead last. Looks like the season is about to come crashing down and its a miracle the Sox lasted this long in a pennant race considering team management abandoned them for the almighty dollar before it even started. Just have to keep plugging along and not expect much the rest of the season. The loss dropped the Sox to 27-27, 9.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow against the Orioles when Brayan Bello (5-2) takes the mound against Grayson Rodriguez of Baltimore. The game begins at 6:35 PM at Camden Yards.
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